May 2020 Birthstone Selections… Suspended Animation for the Time Being Due to the Corona Pandemic
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Tea Tree Gully Gem & Mineral Club Inc. (TTGGMC) May Clubrooms: Old Tea Tree Gully School, Dowding Terrace, Tea Tree Gully, SA 5091. Postal Address: Po Box 40, St Agnes, SA 5097. Edition President: Ian Everard. 0417 859 443 Email: [email protected] 2020 Secretary: Claudia Gill. 0419 841 473 Email: [email protected] Treasurer/Membership Officer: Augie Gray: 0433 571 887 Email: [email protected] Newsletter/Web Site: Mel Jones. 0428 395 179 Email: [email protected] Web Address: https://teatreegullygemandmineralclub.com "Rockzette" Tea Tree Gully Gem & Mineral Club News President’s Report General Interest Club Activities / Fees Hi All, Page 3 and 4: Not much to say this month, as the Club is in Augie’s May 2020 Birthstone Selections… suspended animation for the time being due to the Corona Pandemic. Likewise, Gem & Mineral Club shows in every State have been cancelled for the foreseeable future, as with most other community activities. I’m just thankful that this year is not this Club’s show year, as our show generates most of the money needed to keep the Club financially afloat for the next 2 years. While we currently have no Page 4 and 5: Augie’s May 2020 Mineral Selections… income, we still have bills to pay, such as water and electricity, but we have enough in the kitty to keep us going. I hope all our members are staying safe and not going stir crazy. This is a good time to knock off all those little jobs around the house that you’ve been putting off! Hopefully, Australia and South Australia in *** particular, will keep observing the restrictions Page 6: Meetings and necessary to bring this pandemic to an end sooner Augie - Precious Metals and Their Alloys / Derivatives … rather than later, so we can get the Club up and workshops have been suspended running again. until further notice. Details will Mel asks that you keep contributions for the Newsletter coming in. The more the merrier. be reinstated as and when these Till next month - stay safe, and hopefully sane. are able to be resumed. Cheers, Ian. Notices / General Interest Pages 7 to 9: Ian’s May 2020 Collection Selections… *** Happy Birthday Members celebrating May birthdays: 12th – Inta Chambers. 13th – Mel Jones. 19th – Margrit Rothe. *** Pages 10 to 13: Vale Ron Lewis ‘Newcastle and Rail – The Never-ending Story’ … Members are advised of the passing of member Ron Lewis on the 19th of April, at the age of 88. Ron was a facetor, opal cutter and silversmith with the Club. Our condolences to Ron's wife Mary, and his extended family. *** Pages 2 and 3: Augie’s May 2020 Jasper Selections… Pages 14 to 26: General Interest, humour, etc… Page 26: Members’ Noticeboard and Links… *** The Tea Tree Gully Gem & Mineral Club Inc. is not and cannot be held responsible or liable for any personal injuries, loss or damage to property at any club activity, including, but not limited to, meetings, field trips, all crafts and club shows. An indemnity is to be signed by all participants before each and every field trip activity they attend. Tea Tree Gully Gem and Mineral Club Incorporated, Old Tea Tree Gully School, Dowding Terrace, Tea Tree Gully, South Australia, 5091. Page 1. Augie’s May 2020 Jasper Selections – Page 1 of 2. Picture Jaspers The term "Picture Jasper" encompasses a wide range of stones. Jasper in general is found all over the world, but Picture Jaspers are predominantly found in the United States, except for Royal Sahara, which, as the name suggests, comes from the Sahara Desert in Africa. Most Picture Jaspers in the U.S. are found in Oregon and Idaho. Oregon has produced some stunning Jaspers. While stones are often named for the person who discovered them, most Picture Jasper names indicate their location. Biggs Jasper is from Biggs, Oregon. Bruneau Jasper comes from Bruneau Canyon, Idaho. And so on. Each Jasper is distinctive and (for 03. the most part) easily identifiable, except for Biggs and Deschutes, which come from mines near each other, and look very similar to the 07. untrained eye. Some Picture Jaspers are a mixture of browns, while others such as Cripple Creek, Owyhee, Rocky Butte, Succor Creek and Wildhorse have areas of blue, which can be cut to show as sky above a landscape, and are the epitome of a “picture” stone. The American Picture Jaspers we’ll be looking at in this series are: Name Location Apache Mimbres Valley, New Mexico 08. Biggs Biggs Junction, Oregon Blue Mountain Malheur County, Oregon Bruneau Bruneau River Canyon, Idaho Cripple Creek Owyhee Mtns., Oregon Deschutes Biggs Canyon, Oregon 04. Disaster Peak Trout Creek Mtns., Nevada Gary Green McDermott, Nevada Morrisonite Malheur County, Oregon Owyhee Owyhee River, Oregon Rocky Butte Rocky Butte, Oregon Succor Creek Owyhee Mtns., Oregon Wildhorse Owyhee Mtns., Oregon Willow Creek Eagle, Idaho 09. Augie’s May 2020 Jasper Selections – Apache Jasper Apache Jasper (or Apache Rhyolite) also known as Mimbres Jasper. This attractive material comes from a small deposit in the Mimbres Valley, northeast of Deming, New Mexico. It is immediately recognisable for its plum and pink hues, often with dendritic inclusions. 10. 05. 01. 02. 06. 11. Tea Tree Gully Gem and Mineral Club Incorporated, Old Tea Tree Gully School, Dowding Terrace, Tea Tree Gully, South Australia, 5091. Page 2. Augie’s May 2020 Jasper Selections – Page 2 of 2 and May 2020 Birthstone Selections – Page 1 of 2.. Augie’s May 2020 Jasper Selections – produced commercially viable synthetic Continued... Emeralds. As Emerald is the second most valuable gemstone, there is a good market for synthetic stones. “Synthetic” – a stone whose physical, chemical and optical properties are identical to its earth- mined equivalent, but which is created in a laboratory. “Simulant” – a stone which has a similar appearance to a natural stone and is used to “simulate” that stone. Commonly known as “fakes”. Jadeite has more simulants than any other gem material – over 20 different minerals are known to be passed off as Jadeite. 12. 16. *** Augie’s May 2020 Birthstone Selections 13. 02. 01. Emerald – Birthstone for May Emerald is the green gem variety of the mineral Beryl. Tech. Stuff 03. Chemical composition - (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) Hardness – 7.5 – 8 Crystal System – Hexagonal Specific Gravity – 2.67 -2.78 14. Refractive Index – 1.564 – 1.602 Emeralds have been found in over 30 countries worldwide. They were mined in Egypt as far back as 1500 BCE, and in India and Austria since at least the 14 century CE. The Egyptian mines were worked on an industrial scale by the Roman and Byzantine empires, and later by 04. Islamic conquerors. Today, the primary source of Emeralds is Colombia, with the 3 main areas being Muzo, Chivor and Coscuez. Colombia is unique in its production of rare “trapiche” emeralds (see article in Aug. 2019 Rockzette). Zambia is the world’s second largest producer. Synthetic Emeralds have been successfully produced since 1930, by both flux and 05. hydrothermal methods. Such names as Chatham, Gilson, Kyocera, Biron, Farben, Continued next page… 15. Linde, Lechleitner and Inamori have all Tea Tree Gully Gem and Mineral Club Incorporated, Old Tea Tree Gully School, Dowding Terrace, Tea Tree Gully, South Australia, 5091. Page 3. Augie’s May 2020 Birthstone Selections – Page 2 of 2 and May 2020 Mineral Matters Selections -Page 1 of 2. Augie’s May 2020 Emerald Birthstone Augie’s May 2020 Mineral Selections – Continued... Selections… 06. Datolite with Prehnite & Calcite. Amethyst on Quartz. 07. Emerald – MUZO. Aquamarine. 08. Fluorite on Calcite. Trapiche 01 Bixbite (red Beryl). Trapiche 02 Goethite. *** Cuprian Adamite – GREECE. Tea Tree Gully Gem and Mineral Club Incorporated, Old Tea Tree Gully School, Dowding Terrace, Tea Tree Gully, South Australia, 5091. Page 4. Augie’s May 2020 Mineral Matters Selections -Page 2 of 2. Augie’s May 2020 Mineral Selections… Gold on Calcite. Tourmaline on Smoky Quartz. Tourmaline - Himalaya Mine, Mesa Grande, CALIFORNIA. Haematite included Quartz with Chalcedony – MOROCCO. Proustite. Rosasite on Calcite. Wulfenite - Red Cloud Mine, La Paz, ARIZONA. *** Plancheite, Katanga, ZAIRE. Calcite blades with Chalcopyrite, Pyrite, and Quartz sprays at top Boldut Mine, Cavnic, Maramures Co., Romania Collection. Photo Kevin Ward and The Mineral Gallery, Inc. Quartz on Wulfenite. *** Rutile – MADAGASCAR. Tea Tree Gully Gem and Mineral Club Incorporated, Old Tea Tree Gully School, Dowding Terrace, Tea Tree Gully, South Australia, 5091. Page 5. Precious Metals and Their Alloys / Derivatives -Page 1 of 1. Contributed by Augie (pictures added by editor) … 24k = pure (99.9% gold) (.999) ‘white gold’, as opposed to refined gold. The Precious Metals and Their Alloys / Derivatives 22k = 91.7% gold (.916) gold content of naturally occurring Electrum 18k = 75% gold (.750) ranges from 70% - 90%. It is also produced 14k = 58.3% gold (.585) artificially. The colour ranges from pale to 10k = 41.7% gold (.417) bright yellow, depending on the proportions of 9k = 37.5% gold (.375) gold and silver. Yellow gold can be alloyed with copper, zinc, nickel and/or cobalt. Regardless of what metals are added to the gold alloy, its purity is measured in the same way. Rose Gold / Red Gold is an alloy of yellow From Dreamland Jewellery…Sterling Silver Rings gold and copper, or copper and silver. Although Silver the names are often used interchangeably, the Fine Silver is 100% silver. It is not often used difference between red, rose, and pink gold is on its own other than for embellishing, as it is the copper content: the higher the copper too soft for everyday wear. content, the stronger the red coloration. Sterling Silver is an alloy of pure silver and Pink gold uses the least copper, followed by some other metal, usually copper.